7/18/09

Africa’s leading nation on TB and HIV infection.

 Source: http://africasciencenews.org/asns/index.php?option=com
_content&task=view&id=1449&Itemid=1
 
Written by Henry Neondo   
 

Africa's leading nation on TB and HIV infection, South Africa

has been lauded for its management of TB with a team

of reviewers from WHO's Stop TB Partnership

giving a verdict of 'significant improvement'

compared to what it was in 2005.

This is finding by a joint review of the TB programme by

the World Health Organisation (WHO), development partners and

non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Specifically,

the TB defaulter rate has declined and cure rate has increased.

This emerged during a meeting between

the health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and a delegation of

the Geneva-based Stop TB Partnership including

representatives from WHO, USAID, Foundaton For

Innovative Diagnostics and other stakeholders in Pretoria today.

The Joint TB Review looked at, amongst others,

Directly Observed Treatment (DOTS)

as a strategy of patients - the gold standard

recommended globally for treating TB patients -,

strengthening of the health system, TB HIV collaboration,

drug resistant TB (MDR and XDR) and

Public Private Partnerships and Advocacy,

Communication and Social Mobilisation.

The review included observations of provision of care

in clinics and hospitals, interviews with

TB services managers and health workers.

The Review found amongst others major improvements

on quality and access to TB services resulting

in increased case detection and treatment success,

human resources were found to be sufficient

in some provinces but insufficient in others and

very often not adequately trained

in TB control and

that drugs were generally available and in sufficient quantities.

They recommended that infection control measures

should be improved as this was found to be weak.

The Review also found that HIV testing for TB patients

had increased beyond 90% in many of the visited facilities.

The Review has however called for the management

of TB/HIV co-infected patients at the same facilities

with effective infection control measures.

The Review has also recommended that

NGOs working on HIV should also work on TB.

The Review underscored some serious challenges

including that in spite of progress made

still 1% of the general population

gets sick with TB every year,

very much driven by the HIV epidemic.

Infection control should be strengthened

through the formation of national and

provincial infection committees and

assigning this responsibility to dedicated focal persons.

Concluding the Review report Dr Leopold Blanc of

the WHO STOP TB speaking on behalf of

the Review Team commended

South Africa's progress around TB control

but also raised a number of concerns.

"Despite the areas of concern that are still there,

we are encouraged by the progress made

(by South Africa) in this regard.

Its however vitally important that you look

more closely in the area of aggressively

addressing TB/HIV co-infection and

TB within HIV programes and infection control", said Blanc.

Ms Irene Koek, Chair of the Stop TB Partnership Board

also commended South Africa on tremendous progress

in the national TB progress and government's commitment

to addressing serious challenges around TB and HIV.

Commenting on the Review findings, health Minister

expressed his confidence on the ability of

the country's health system to continue

to respond to the TB pandemic even in

the context of HIV and AIDS.

"We are encouraged by the findings of the Review.

Moving forward, we have to strengthen around the areas

that the Review draws our attention to.

We are grateful to the WHO and other partners

for working with us in conducting this Review",

said Motsoaledi.


-
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

RLPC-South Africa's MTN seeks $3.5 bln loan for Bharti-bankers

 Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/07/17/afx6667885.html


LONDON,  (Reuters) - South Africa's MTN is in talks with a group of lenders

to secure a $3.5 billion syndicated loan to back its proposed merger

with India's Bharti Airtel, banking sources close to the deal said.

The two telecom companies are in exclusive talks over a deal that

could lead to a full merger, creating

the world's third biggest wireless group with

more than 200 million subscribers and

combined revenue of $20 billion.

Bank of America ( BAC - news - people )-Merrill Lynch and
Deutsche Bank ( DB - news - people ) are advising MTN on the deal.

Bharti has been talking to banks about a $5-6.5 billion loan

to back the merger, banking sources told Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.

MTN declined to comment about the financing.

'At this stage the company has nothing further to add ....

The discussions are still in progress. MTN are in

exclusive discussions with Bharti Airtel

until 31 July 2009,' the company said.

 Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/07/17/afx6667885.html

--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

Tutu: 2010 World Cup chance for unity

Map


BERLIN — Archbishop Desmond Tutu believes the 2010 World Cup

is a good chance to demonstrate the gains South Africa

has made since the end of apartheid.

Tutu has long championed increased rights for minorities and

the importance of friendship across ethnic boundaries.

"This thing is as important as Obama getting into the White House,"

he told reporters Friday at the South African Embassy

in the German capital.

"For people of color everywhere, it would lift them."

The anti-apartheid stalwart was a thorn in the side of

the white government, helping to bring about

the end of apartheid in 1994 when

Nelson Mandela became the country's first black president.

The 77-year-old Tutu coined the phrase

"rainbow nation" to describe

South Africa's mix of races, cultures and languages.

Tutu said the World Cup — like the just-completed

Confederations Cup — will give South Africans the opportunity

to take pride in the steps their country

has taken in terms of social progress.

"That would be the greatest thing — helping

our people come together, seeing all of

our people with a new pride," he said.

The 1984 Nobel Peace Prize laureate recalled the excitement

that enveloped the country in 1995 when it hosted

the Rugby World Cup, ultimately winning

the tournament with a 15-12 upset of New Zealand.

"It did more for our country's reconciliation than all

my sermons for a year," he said, adding that sports go

a long way in promoting both racial and cultural unity.

"If human beings of all these different colors can

come together ... then there is hope

for the world," he said.

As to fears South Africa has fallen behind in building

the infrastructure for the World Cup,

Tutu said skepticism about its ability would be proven wrong.

"You know what? We've been free for only 15 years!

" he said. "Give us a chance!"




--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

2009 agricultural, commercial show to gobble K3 billion

 Source: http://www.lusakatimes.com/?p=15396

The Agricultural and Commercial Society of Zambia (ACSZ) will spend

an estimated K3 billion to hold this year's agricultural and

commercial show in Lusaka.

The society spent K2.5 billion last year.

Society President Paul Mumbuluma said this year's income

through gate takings and other payments is estimated

to be K3.5 billion, compared to K2.7 billion last year.

The 83rd Agricultural and Commercial Show, which

will be held from the 30th July 2009, will end on 3rd August 2009.

He was speaking at a media luncheon organized by ACSZ in Lusaka today.

Mr. Mumbuluma disclosed that six private security firms have since

been engaged to provide security.

This will beef up the more than 120 Zambia Police Service officers.

He added that show goers are therefore assured of

law and order during the period of the show.

He said measures have also been put in place to ban

the consumption of intoxication liquor between

06:00 hours and 16:30 hours during the show period.

Mr. Mumbuluma however said exhibitors from thirteen foreign countries,

among them South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Ethiopia,

have so far confirmed participation in the show.

He said the demand for exhibition space has been overwhelming,

with more than 85 per cent of available space taken

by end of June this year.

He said the society expects a good turn out by the public

and trade exhibitors despite the global economic meltdown.

Mr. Mumbuluma said the composition of exhibitors was diverse,

representing a cross section of sectors that include

Non-Governmental Organizations, government departments and many others.

He said the society has maintained last year's K15,000 entry charges

this year for adults for each of the five days while

children under five will enter free of charge.

Mr. Mumbuluma said the society decided to make this year's show

a carnival by inviting the twice kora award winner

Democratic Republic of Congo musician,

Werrason Mere Wenge Musica and

dancing queens based in France.

ZANIS

Source: http://www.lusakatimes.com/?p=15396


--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

Ocampo afungua bahasha ya Waki lakini majina kapuni!

 Source: http://www.jamiiforums.com/international-forum/
34111-ocampo-afungua-bahasha-ya-waki-lakini-majina-kapuni.html


Waki Commission list of names in
the hands of ICC Prosecutor



Six boxes containing documents and supporting materials compiled
by Waki Commission arrive at the ICC on Thursday, July 16, 2009


The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
(ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo received in The Hague
six boxes containing documents and
supporting materials
compiled by the Commission of Inquiry into
the Post-Election Violence (known also as
the Waki Commission), and an envelope with
a list of persons who could be
implicated in the violence.


The Prosecutor opened the sealed envelope,
examined its content and resealed the envelope.

"The content of the envelope will remain
confidential, there will be no leaks,
" the Prosecutor said".

The Waki Commission provided the names of
a number of individuals and justifications
for an investigation.

I am grateful to Kofi Annan and Justice Waki
for transmitting this information and for
their contributions to our common goal in
fighting impunity.

My Office will continue the collection of
information, and I will reach an impartial
conclusion as to whether or not
to investigate those individuals
or others, or none."


Afterwards, the material was stored in
a secure vault, where it will remain.

It will be registered and processed
for analysis by the Prosecutor's Office.


"There is a consensus that there will be
no impunity for the crimes that
have been committed," the Prosecutor stressed,
"this is the only way to prevent the commission
of new crimes during the next elections.

" he said. "The main responsibility now
lies with the Kenyan government."


The International Criminal Court is
an independent, permanent court that
investigates and prosecutes
persons accused of the most serious crimes
of international concern,
namely genocide, crimes against humanity
and war crimes.


Waki Commission list of names in the hands of ICC Prosecutor
__________________
'Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinions without the discomfort of thought.' - JFK

Source: http://www.jamiiforums.com/international-forum/
34111-ocampo-afungua-bahasha-ya-waki-lakini-majina-kapuni.html



--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

The Most Misunderstood Man in America

The Most Misunderstood Man in America

Joseph Stiglitz predicted the global financial meltdown.

So why can't he get any respect here at home?

 

There are plenty of people who contributed to the sad state

of our economy.

But when it comes to bad decision making,

these seven folks arguably deserve bye bye


the bulk of the blame. (

Want to add to this hall of shame?

Follow the e-mail link at the end of this gallery.)


Who Is To Blame?
Source: http://www.newsweek.com/id/207390/page/1

Anya Stiglitz was in the middle of a Pilates class in Central Park

on an April morning when her cell phone rang.

Glancing down, she saw "202" pop up—no number attached

—and knew it was the White House.

An aide to Larry Summers was on the line, looking for her husband,

the Nobel Prize–winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. Anya said

she'd pass on the message to Joe—then went back to work

on her abs.

No big deal, she thought. People often call her when

they want to talk to Joe, because even though

he's spent four decades figuring out how the global economy works,

he hasn't quite gotten the hang of voice mail.

"He doesn't listen to his messages, so if you want

to talk to him, keep calling,"

Anya says on his cell-phone recording.

Anya figured Summers, Obama's chief economic adviser,

was probably just calling to gripe about Joe's latest op-ed

in The New York Times.

Joe Stiglitz and Larry Summers, two towering intellects

with egos to match, are not each other's favorite economist.

"They respect each other, but they hate each other like poison,"

says Bruce Greenwald, Stiglitz's friend and academic collaborator

at Columbia.

("I've got huge admiration for Joe as an economic thinker,"

Summers told NEWSWEEK.)

Stiglitz had been hammering at Obama's economic team for

its handling of the financial crisis.

He wrote that the stimulus program was too small to be effective

—a criticism that has since swelled into a chorus, though Obama

says he's not adding more money.

Stiglitz also had called the administration's bailout plan

a giveaway to Wall Street, an

"ersatz capitalism" that would save the banks' investors

and creditors and screw the taxpayers.

"I thought, Larry—he's just going

to yell at Joe," Anya recalls.

But Summers's aide soon called back, and this time

he said it was urgent: could Professor Stiglitz come

to Washington for a dinner hosted by the president

—that same night?

Anya patched him through to Joe's office at Columbia University;

Stiglitz accepted, and jumped on an early train.

He was a little miffed: the other eminent economists

attending the dinner, like Princeton's Alan Blinder and

Harvard's Kenneth Rogoff, had been invited the week before.

Stiglitz, a former chairman of Bill Clinton's Council of

Economic Advisers, had supported Barack Obama as

a candidate as early as 2007.

But until that day, four months into the administration,

he had heard barely a word from the White House.

Even now, when the president was making an effort

to hear a range of economic voices,

Stiglitz seemed to be an afterthought.

(A White House spokesman said only that

the president wished to include Stiglitz.)

Such is the lot of Joe Stiglitz.

Even in the contentious world of economics, he is considered

somewhat prickly.

And while he may be a Nobel laureate, in Washington he's seen

as just another economic critic—and not always

a welcome one.

Few Americans recognize his name, and fewer still would

recognize the man, who is short and stocky and

bears a faint resemblance to Mel Brooks.

Yet Stiglitz's work is cited by more economists than

anyone else's in the world, according to data compiled

by the University of Connecticut.

And when he goes abroad—to Europe, Asia,

and Latin America—he is received like a superstar,

a modern-day oracle. "In Asia they treat him

like a god," says Robert Johnson, a former chief economist

for the Senate banking committee who has traveled

with him. "People walk up to him on the streets."

Stiglitz has won fans in China and other emerging

G20 nations by arguing that the global economic system

is stacked against poor nations, and by standing up to

the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

He is also the most prominent American economist to propose

a long-term solution to the imbalances in capital flows

that have wreaked havoc, from the Asian contagion of

the late '90s to the subprime-investment craze.

Beijing has more or less endorsed Stiglitz's idea for

a new global reserve system to replace the U.S. dollar a

s the world currency.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has been influenced

by Stiglitz's work, especially when "he talks about

the economics of poor people," says Fang Xinghai, the head

of Shanghai's financial-services office.

But his stature is huge in Europe as well: French President

Nicolas Sarkozy recently featured him at a conference

on rethinking globalization.

And earlier this month, while traveling to Europe and

South Africa, Stiglitz received a call from British Prime Minister

Gordon Brown's office: could he return through London

and help the P.M. get ready for

the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh?

Stiglitz is perhaps best known for his unrelenting assault on an idea that

has dominated the global landscape since

Ronald Reagan: that markets work well on their own

and governments should stay out of the way.

Since the days of Adam Smith, classical economic theory

has held that free markets are always efficient,

with rare exceptions.

Stiglitz is the leader of a school of economics that, for

the past 30 years, has developed complex mathematical models

to disprove that idea.

The subprime-mortgage disaster was almost tailor-made evidence

that financial markets often fail without rigorous

government supervision,

Stiglitz and his allies say.

The work that won Stiglitz the Nobel in 2001 showed

how "imperfect" information that is unequally shared

by participants in a transaction can make markets

go haywire, giving unfair advantage to one party.

The subprime scandal was all about people who

knew a lot—like mortgage lenders and

Wall Street derivatives traders—exploiting people

who had less information, like global investors

who bought up subprime- mortgage-backed securities.

As Stiglitz puts it: "Globalization opened up opportunities

to find new people to exploit their ignorance.

And we found them."

Stiglitz's empathy for the little guy—and economically

backward nations—comes to him naturally.

The son of a schoolteacher and an insurance salesman,

he grew up in one of America's grittiest

industrial cities—Gary, Ind.—and was shaped by

the social inequalities and labor strife he observed there.

Stiglitz remembers realizing as a small boy that something

was wrong with our system.

The Stiglitzes, like many middle-class families,

had an African-American maid.

She was from the South and had little education.

"I remember thinking, why do we still have people

in America who have a sixth-grade education?" he says.

Those early experiences in Gary gave Stiglitz

a social conscience—as a college student,

he attended Martin Luther King's "I Have

a Dream" speech—and led him to probe the reasons

why markets failed.

While studying at MIT, he says he realized that

if Smith's "invisible hand" always guided behavior correctly,

the kind of unemployment and poverty he had

witnessed in Gary shouldn't exist. "I was struck by

the incongruity between the models that I was taught and

the world that I had seen growing up," Stiglitz said in

his Nobel Prize lecture in 2001. In the same speech he declared

that the invisible hand "might not exist at all." The solution,

Stiglitz says, is to move beyond ideology and to develop

a balance between market-driven economies—which

he favors—and government oversight.

Stiglitz has warned for years that pro-market zeal would cause

a global financial meltdown very much like the one

that gripped the world last year.

In the early '90s, as a member of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers,

Stiglitz argued (unsuccessfully) against opening up

capital flows too rapidly to developing countries,

saying those markets weren't ready to handle "hot money"

from Wall Street. Later in the decade,

he spoke out (without results) against repealing

the Glass-Steagall Act, which regulated financial institutions

and separated commercial from investment banking.

Since at least 1990, Stiglitz has talked about the risks of

securitizing mortgages, questioning whether markets and authorities

would grow careless "about the importance of screening

loan applicants." Malaysian economist Andrew Sheng says,

"I think Stiglitz is the nearest thing there is

to Keynes in this crisis."

That would be John Maynard Keynes, the great 20th-century economist

who rocketed to international renown in late 1919

when he published The Economic Consequences of the Peace.

In his book, Keynes warned that the draconian penalties imposed

on Germany after World War I would lead to political disaster.

No one listened. The disaster he predicted turned out

to be World War II. Like Stiglitz, Keynes was not

a favorite at the White House. Keynes also believed

that markets were imperfect: he invented

modern macroeconomics—which calls for

major government intervention to help ailing economies—in response

to the Great Depression.

But after meeting Keynes for the first time in 1934, FDR dismissed

him as too abstract and intellectual, according

to Robert Skidelsky, Keynes's biographer.

Keynes himself fretted that Roosevelt

was not spending enough.

To his critics—and there are many—Stiglitz is

a self-aggrandizing rock-thrower.

Even some of his intellectual allies note that while Stiglitz

is often right on the substance of issues, he tends

to leap to the conclusion that government c

an make things better.

Harvard economist Rogoff has called him

intolerably arrogant—though he added that Stiglitz

is a "towering genius." In a letter to -Stiglitz

published in 2002, Rogoff recalled a moment when

the two of them were teaching at Princeton and

former Fed chairman Paul Volcker's name came up

for tenure. "You turned to me and said, 'Ken, you used

to work for Volcker at the Fed. Tell me, is he really smart?'

I responded something to the effect of 'Well, he was arguably

the greatest Federal Reserve chairman of the 20th century.'

To which you replied, 'But is he smart like us?'"

(Stiglitz says he can't remember the comment, but adds that

he might have been referring to whether

Volcker was an abstract thinker.)

Stiglitz's defenders say one possible explanation for

his outsider status in Washington is his ongoing

rivalry with Summers.

While they are both devotees of Keynes, Summers often

has supported deregulation of financial markets—or

at least he did before last year—while Stiglitz has

made a career of mistrusting markets.

Since the early '90s, when Summers was

a senior Treasury official and Stiglitz was on

the Council of Economic Advisers, the two have engaged

in fierce policy debates.

The first fight was over the Clinton admin-is-tration's efforts

to pry open emerging financial markets,

such as South Korea's. Stiglitz argued there

wasn't good evidence that liberalizing poorly regulated

Third World markets would make

any one more prosperous;

Summers wanted them open to U.S. firms.



--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

Mobius Says China Market Value to Overtake U.S. in Three Years

  Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080
&sid=a4.VQEZdQ__M

By Francine Lacqua and Michael Patterson

  (Bloomberg) -- China's stock market may surpass the U.S. as

the world's largest by value in three years as state- owned companies

sell new shares and the nation's 1.4 billion people

put more of their money into equities,

Mark Mobius said.

"The Chinese population is just dipping its toe into equities and

they've got a long way to go," Mobius, who oversees about $25 billion

of emerging-market assets as executive chairman of

Templeton Asset Management Ltd., said in an interview

with Bloomberg Television in London.

State-owned companies are "coming up with more huge"

initial public offerings, he said yesterday.

China's market is valued at $3.2 trillion, compared with

$11.2 trillion in the U.S., according to data compiled

by Bloomberg.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, a benchmark for U.S. equities,

has gained 4.1 percent in 2009, while China's 4 trillion-yuan ($586 billion)

stimulus package lifted the Shanghai Composite Index

75 percent this year.

China last month approved its first IPO since September, ending

a nine-month ban by regulators.

Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical Co. and Zhejiang Wanma Cable Co.,

the first two Chinese companies to go public this year,

surged 64 percent and 139 percent, respectively,

since they began trading this month.

Sanjin, China's largest maker of herbal lozenges,

raised 910.8 million yuan in a sale that was 500 times oversubscribed.

Wanma, which supplies cable to the nation's top electricity distributor,

raised 575 million yuan after investors applied

for 638 times the stock available.

'Somewhat Overvalued'

While China's mainland-traded stocks, known as A shares,

are "somewhat overvalued," the market will move higher

as earnings climb, he said.

China's gross domestic product will expand 8 percent this year

as the stimulus package boosts consumer spending, Mobius said.

"We can expect corrections along the way" for emerging markets,

Mobius said. "I would expect a more steady,

jagged movement upwards."

China's stock market overtaking the U.S. "is possible, but I think people

need to understand the difference between the Chinese equity markets

and the U.S. equity markets," said Donald Straszheim,

a former Merrill Lynch & Co. chief economist who runs

Los Angeles-based Straszheim Global Advisors.

State- owned companies "dominate" the Shanghai stock exchange

while the U.S. stock market consists of private companies, he said.

U.S. Decline

The U.S. equity market's value declined 41 percent from a peak

of $19.1 trillion in July 2007 as the nation's worst financial crisis

since the Great Depression dragged down financial

and consumer shares.

New York-based securities firm Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

and automaker General Motors Corp.

both filed for bankruptcy as credit markets froze.

The U.S. economy is now "out of the woods" and doesn't need

another stimulus package, Mobius said. Russian stocks

are "very undervalued" and should be a "big holding"

for investors as markets recover, the fund manager said.

Stocks and bonds in emerging markets have rallied on speculation

the global economy is recovering.

Bondholders have recouped their losses from the credit crisis

as a rally in debt from Argentina to Ukraine pushed

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s benchmark EMBI+ Index

to a record today.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index of equities in 22 countries

has climbed 38 percent this year as commodities

that sustain developing economies rose.

That compares with a 6.8 percent gain for

the MSCI index of developed markets.

Stocks in Russia, the world's largest energy supplier, trade

at less than half the price relative to earnings compared

with global peers.

The Micex Index is valued at 7.5 times reported earnings,

compared with 16.1 for the MSCI EM index.

To contact the reporters on this story

: Michael Patterson in London at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net;

Francine Lacqua in London at flacqua@bloomberg.net.

  Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a4.VQEZdQ__M

--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

US group denounces foreign media 'harassment' in Congo

CPJ condemned as "harassment" the treatment of four foreign journalists covering the election in the Republic of Congo


Map

LIBREVILLE — A New York-based media rights group on Saturday

condemned as "harassment" the treatment of four foreign journalists

covering last week's disputed presidential election

in the Republic of Congo.

"The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by

the harassment of international journalists covering this week's

disputed presidential elections," it said in a statement.

The CPJ said Marlene Rabaud and Arnaud Zajtman of France 24

and Thomas Fessy of the BBC were manhandled by police

and had equipment confiscated or smashed during

the dispersal of an opposition protest on Wednesday.

The rally was held in protest at the announcement

that President Denis Sassou Nguesso had been re-elected.

"It's unacceptable in a democracy that international reporters

are being harassed for covering an election and its aftermath,"

said CPJ Africa Programme Coordinator Tom Rhodes.

"We call on authorities to halt this intimidation, return seized equipment,

and compensate media for any damages," Rhodes said.

The CPJ also said security agents harassed Catherine Ninin of

Radio France Internationale by going to her hotel

and demanding to see her.

Ninin received a threatening phone call from a presidential aide

an hour later, while two more groups of security agents

besieged the hotel throughout the night.

"The harassment of our colleague Catherine Ninin reveals

a climate of fear and self-censorship that local press

in the Republic of Congo has endured for years," added Rhodes.

Zajtman also reported receiving a similar phone call

in the middle of the night.

Police spokesman Jean Aive Alakoua said had not received

any complaints in connection with the alleged incidents.

President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who returned to power after

civil war in 1997 and has run the Congo for a total

of a quarter century, won Sunday's poll with 78.6 percent of the vote.

Several candidates have contested the result

and accused the authorities of massive fraud.



--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

Fareed Zakaria says Rwanda is Africa's biggest success story.

Zakaria: Africa's biggest success story

  • Story Highlights
  • Zakaria: Rwanda is biggest success story out of Africa
  • Rwanda's President Kagame deserves much
  • of the credit, Zakaria says
  • Zakaira says the stability in Rwanda could be fragile,
  • held together by Kagame
  • Confession and forgiveness strategy to bring
  • together people after '94 genocide
 

Editor's note: Fareed Zakaria is an author and foreign affairs analyst

who hosts "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on CNN on Sundays at 1 and 5 p.m. ET

Fareed Zakaria says Rwanda is Africa's biggest success story.

Fareed Zakaria says Rwanda is Africa's biggest success story.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Obama reached out to Africa earlier this week

with a wide-ranging address praising the continent's steady achievements,

but he called its persistent violent conflicts "a millstone around Africa's neck."

"Despite the progress that has been made -- and there has been considerable

progress in parts of Africa -- we also know that much of that promise

has yet to be fulfilled," Obama said in a speech to the Parliament

of Ghana, a western African nation seen as a model of democracy

and growth for the rest of the continent.

Ghana, with a population of 24 million, was once a major

slave trading center. Obama visited the Cape Coast Castle,

a British outpost where slaves were held until

shipped overseas, along with his daughters.

CNN spoke to author and foreign affairs analyst Fareed Zakaria

about Obama's trip and the status of Africa.

CNN: "When President Obama was in Africa last week,

he visited Ghana, but you think there's another country

that's a bigger and better success story?"

Fareed Zakaria: He was smart to focus on a success story,

of sorts, like Ghana.

But I would say the biggest success story

out of the continent is Rwanda.

You remember what happened in there just 15 years ago

-- over a period of 100 days 800,000 men, women, and children

were killed -- most of them slaughtered with knives, machetes,

and axes by their neighbors.

It is perhaps the most brutal genocide in modern history.

By the time it ended, one tenth of the country's population

was dead.

Most people assumed that Rwanda was broken and,

like Somalia, another country wracked by violence,

would become a poster child for Africa's failed states.

It's now a poster child for success.

Fareed Zakaria GPS
Fareed Zakaria talks to Rwanda president Paul Kagame on this week's GPS.
Sunday, 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. ET

CNN: Meaning what?

Zakaria: Well, the country has achieved stability, economic growth,

and international integration.

Average incomes have tripled; the health care system is

good enough that the Gates Foundation cites them

as a model, education levels are rising.

The government is widely seen as one of the more efficient

and honest ones in Africa.

Fortune magazine published an article recently

titled "Why CEOs Love Rwanda."

CNN: Why has Rwanda succeeded when so many

other African countries have failed?

Zakaria: Much of it has to do with its president.

President Kagame was the leader of the forces that came

in and ended the genocide.

He has led the country since then and implemented

some controversial programs to help build stability

in the country following the horrific events of 1994.

He had to find a way to reintegrate the perpetrators

of the brutal genocide into their original homes,

often living next door to their previous victims.

Rwanda is very unique in its post-conflict makeup.

As the New Yorker writer, Phillip Gourevitch, points out,

in Germany, the Jews left for America and Israel.

In the Balkans the warring groups spilt up geographically.

In Cambodia, the class that perpetrated the violence was

easily identifiable and separated.

In Rwanda, however, the killers and the victims live

side-by-side, in every village and community.

Can you imagine Nazis and Jews living next door to one another?

CNN: So what did President Kagame do?

Zakraia: The only way President Kagame could see to make

peace was to reintegrate these communities.

He came up with a specially crafted solution

-- using local courts called Gacacas.

In each village, the killers stood before their neighbors

and confessed, and in turn were offered forgiveness

-- part court, and part community council.

It has made for a fascinating historical experiment

that seems to be working.

CNN: Can it really be working?

How can killers be allowed to roam around the country

free from prosecution?

It doesn't seem fair.

Zakaria: We have President Kagame on the show this week and

I asked him that very question.

It is obvious he has thought deeply on the issue and

couldn't come up with any other option.

As he states, "If we incarcerated everyone

who committed a crime we wouldn't have a country."

"There are many killers; there are hundreds of thousands

because the genocide that took place in our country involved

a huge percentage of our population, both in terms of those

who were killed and those who killed.

And if you went technically to try each one of them as

the law may suggest, then you would lose

out on rebuilding a nation."

CNN: But is the fact they've emerged from the genocide

with some political stability enough

to call the country a success?

Zakaria: It might be fragile.

Beneath the veneer of reconciliation, there might well

be much hatred.

And it might be that Kagame is holding it all together

because of his personality and toughness

-- perhaps like Tito in Yugoslavia.

But he says his goal is to build institutions

and have this process outlive him.

Hope you will be able to watch

the interview with him.

 

All About GhanaRwandaPaul Kagame

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/07/17/zakaria.rwanda/

--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

Madonna's stage collapses in France

Madonna's stage collapses in France killing 2

Madonna

A second worker injured in the Marseille, France, stage collapse
ahead of a weekend Madonna concert has died,
a French hospital official announced on Friday.

The 32-year-old British man died from injuries suffered in

Thursday's incident at the Stade Velodrome

in the southern French port city.

A French worker was killed instantly on Thursday when

a partially completed roof section of the complex and

intricate set collapsed on top of several people.

Nine others were injured and sent to local hospitals, authorities said,

noting at the time that an American and a British worker

were in serious condition.

Madonna was reportedly "devastated" when she learned

of the incident while warming up for her concert

in Udine, Italy, on Thursday" [CBC]

Source: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/07/madonnas_stage.html

--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

Tour De France Cyclists, Hurt In Suspected Air-Rifle Shooting

Julian Dean And Oscar Freire, Tour De France Cyclists,

Hurt In Suspected Air-Rifle Shooting

 


Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

/2009/07/17/julian-dean-and-oscar-fre_

                                           n_238701.html

COLMAR, France —

Two Tour de France cyclists

were slightly injured Friday in what their teams suspect

was an air-rifle shooting.

New Zealand's Julian Dean and Spain's Oscar Freire,

a three-time former world champion, were struck

while riding in northeast France during the 13th stage.

Dean's right index finger was injured. Freire's team said he was

hit in the thigh with a projectile that was removed.

Both were expected to ride Saturday.

It was not immediately certain what weapon was used.

But both teams – Dean's Garmin Slipstream and

Freire's Rabobank – believe it was an air rifle.

"He (Dean) was very lucky," Garmin spokeswoman

Marya Pongrace said by telephone. "He is a little shaken up."

Rabobank said in a statement the doctor told the team the injury

to Freire "will not bother him too much."

Police were investigating, and Dean was to be interviewed at

his hotel in Colmar later Friday.

Rabobank said it intended to file a complaint.

The riders were hit during the descent of the demanding Col du Platzerwasel,

about 22 miles from the finish of the stage between

Vittel and Colmar, Rabobank said.

___

Associated Press Writer Greg Keller contributed to this report.



Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

/2009/07/17/julian-dean-and-oscar-fre_

                                           n_238701.html


--
             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66

7/16/09

Comment le Rwanda a redressé la barre

Source: http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAJA2530p077.xml0/
 Jeune Afrique- Par : Patrick Sandouly -

La réforme du foncier a dynamisé le secteur de l'immobilier












La réforme du foncier a dynamisé le secteur de l'immobilier
© DR

Le petit pays d'Afrique de l'Est recueille les fruits de

deux ans de réformes pour moderniser son économie,

attirer les investisseurs et doper les exportations.

« Un nectar à redécouvrir. »

C'est avec ce slogan que Starbucks Coffee vendra

le café rwandais dans 700 points de vente du Royaume-Uni

dès le début de 2010.

L'annonce a été faite à Kigali le 29 juin par le PDG

de la multinationale américaine : le Bourbon Arabica

du Rwanda fera l'objet d'offres promotionnelles

tout au long de l'année.

En visite dans ce pays de 10 millions d'habitants,

Howard Schultz, patron de 17 000 boutiques,

a également inauguré un Centre de soutien

aux producteurs qui travaillera avec les paysans

de la région pour qu'ils obtiennent

la certification Fairtrade. Une garantie de

« commerce équitable » à laquelle

les consommateurs britanniques sont particulièrement

attentifs et sur laquelle Starbucks construit

une partie de son image, achetant chaque année

9 000 tonnes de tels cafés, soit 5 % de

sa consommation totale.

Le Rwanda compte 128 coopératives, dont une seule fournit

aujourd'hui Starbucks.

En 2008, elles ont produit 22 000 tonnes de café,

représentant 47 millions de dollars,

sa principale recette d'exportation (40 %, et

plus de 50 % avec le thé).

L'objectif est de porter ce montant à

120 millions de dollars en 2011,

pour une production de 35 000 tonnes. 

Valoriser le haut de gamme

« Nous tirons le maximum du café et du thé,

en choisissant les variétés les plus recherchées,

et nous nous diversifions vers d'autres produits

haut de gamme comme la soie et le cuir »,

explique Clare Akamanzi, directrice générale

adjointe du Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

Cheville ouvrière de cette structure chargée de

stimuler les exportations et les investissements,

elle accumule les bonnes nouvelles en cette fin juin.

Le 23, le RDB signait avec le centre néerlandais

de promotion des importations (CBI) et

la Fédération rwandaise des entreprises privées

(Private Sector Federation, PSF)

une convention d'assistance technique pour

la promotion des produits rwandais en Europe.

La méthode a fait ses preuves au Kenya,

désormais grand exportateur de fleurs.

C'est la seconde convention signée en deux ans

avec le Rwanda ; la première a représenté

un investissement de 1,5 million de dollars,

dont 1 million venant du CBI et le reste d

'appuis logistiques de la Riepa,

l'agence de promotion des investissements et

des exportations, sorte d'ancêtre du RDB.

Créé à la fin de 2008, sur le conseil de

l'ancien Premier ministre britannique Tony Blair,

et opérationnel depuis janvier,

le Rwanda Development Board réunit

notamment, outre la Riepa, l'Office du tourisme

et des parcs nationaux (ORTPN) et

la Rwanda Information Technology Authority (Rita),

chargée de créer une société de l'information.

Le gouvernement dépense chaque année plus

de 50 millions de dollars dans ce domaine.

Il s'est porté acquéreur de 10 000 ordinateurs auprès

de la fondation One Laptop Per Child (OLPC),

qui a écoulé plus d'un demi-million de ses PC à

100 dollars dans le monde.

Trois cents étudiants ont été envoyés cette année

en Inde pour développer leurs compétences en logiciels.

La stratégie informatique du pays lui a valu un long article

de Sarah Lacy, spécialiste des nouvelles technologies

du Washington Post dans l'édition

du 29 juin – jour décidément propice

à l'image internationale du Rwanda.

Insensible aux compliments, Clare Akamanzi

égrène les réformes engagées. « Toutes

les agences et institutions gouvernementales

sont concernées », ajoute-t-elle en évoquant

la refonte en cours du droit commercial.

La ligne directrice de son action a été donnée par

la présidence de la République en 2007,

quand Paul Kagamé a décidé d'améliorer le classement

de son pays dans le rapport Doing Business

de la Banque mondiale (158e).

Publié chaque année en septembre, le document établit

le palmarès de 181 économies en fonction de la qualité

de l'environnement des affaires, critère fondamental

pour attirer les investisseurs et développer

les échanges commerciaux.

Deux ans plus tard, le Rwanda est arrivé 139e,

non loin de l'Algérie (132e) et devant le Sénégal (150e)

dans ce classement où seuls trois pays africains

figurent parmi les 100 premiers (Maurice, Afrique du Sud

et Tunisie).

Dans la dernière édition, le Rwanda se trouve parmi

les vingt premiers réformateurs grâce à

des améliorations dans

trois domaines : la création d'entreprises (11 places gagnées),

l'accès au foncier et

aux permis de construire (35 places)

ainsi que l'accès à la propriété (78 places).

Sur les dix indicateurs du rapport Doing Business,

trois méritent encore

des efforts : l'accès au crédit (le Rwanda est 145e), l

a protection des investisseurs (170e)

et le commerce transfrontalier (168e).

Sur ce dernier plan, les efforts ont jusqu'à présent

porté sur la simplification des procédures administratives,

ce qui a permis de diminuer de 40 % les délais de livraison.

Mais le pays souffre de

son enclavement : les coûts par conteneur acheminé

depuis ou vers le Rwanda sont

jusqu'à deux fois plus élevés que pour

son voisin Tanzanien.

Côté accès au crédit, la libéralisation

du secteur bancaire et l'arrivée

cette année de géants tels qu'Ecobank

ou Access Bank devraient permettre

de gagner des points.

Il le faudra, de toute façon : l'équipe

de travail nationale Doing Business Unit

s'est fixé pour objectif d'être dans

les dix premiers pays réformateurs

du prochain rapport.

Rendez-vous en septembre.


Source: http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAJA2530p077.xml0/
 Jeune Afrique- Par : Patrick Sandouly -



             J-L K
Procurement Consultant
Gsm:    (250) (0) 78-847-0205 (Mtn Rwanda)
Gsm:    (250) (0) 75-079-9819 (Rwandatel)
Home:  (250) (0) 25-510-4140
    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
    East AFRICA
jlkayisa@yahoo.com
http://facebook.com/kayisa
Blog: http://cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID: kayisa66